LOVE ALARM : My Ringing World

Eight years before Love Alarm was launched.

***************

Under the vast sea of shimmering stars, a lonely neighborhood stood, appearing a shade of silver and grey as the night sky casts upon it a gentle after-glow. Despite being relatively close to the largest capital city of South Korea, Seoul, the place look anything but civilized, with rows of narrow houses stacked indiscriminately close to one another, some look damp and unoccupied, with tiles missing from their roof and ivy spreading unrestrainedly over their surface. Fortunately, the neighborhood still has a redeeming quality - its surrounding scenery, with mountains appearing in gradients of blues and rivers sparkling across the distance, reflecting the vast sea of stars above.

It appears that most of the inhabitants have already gone to bed, as only a few houses have their lights on. One of the houses in particular not only has its light as bright as day, but one can also hear loud, echoing disturbances that broke the tranquil silence of the night, destroying the peaceful rest of neighbors.

A few people turned their heads towards the source of the noise, but soon turned away as if nothing happened. No one dared get involve or complain as they know very well whose house the noise belongs to; a handsome young man who is fortunate enough to marry into an influential family in Seoul. He graduated from one of the best universities in the country, with outstanding abilities that cause people to admire.

However, beneath the man's seemingly sparkling profile lies a blemish. Rumor has it that he was drunk one day and accidentally slept with a bar hostess, resulting in her getting pregnant. No one knows how his rich wife and her family reacted to the matter, or whether they know anything at all. All they know is that he would visit this place from time to time, each time making a raucous that would awaken the whole neighborhood.

From this, the inhabitants could somewhat guess how much he dislikes the woman and child, hiding them here in this forsaken place. The conservative neighbors want them gone; disliking the idea of having an "unchaste" woman and her "illegitimate" child living amongst them in "their" neighborhood.

What if this disgraceful family influences their children badly? Not to mention the evening raucous that happens every time the man visited. They want their peaceful neighborhood back!

Left with nothing they can do legally to drive the mother and child away, they decided to boycott them like a plaque. The life of the mother and child thus becomes very difficult, sometimes starving for a day or two because no one was willing to sell them food. The child even stopped going to school because she was being bullied by her classmates.

The inhabitants were very confident that their doings and reasons are justified, leaving no room for further discussions.

Like usual, tonight would be a sleepless night for a lot of people. The man came for a visit again, bringing along with him the whirlwind of chaos.

"I spent a lot of fortune on you lot, and yet this is how I was repaid? A bunch ungrateful bitches".

The man's rough, gruff voice reverberates through the walls of the old house. He carries with him a pungent odor of alcohol, his handsome face stoic, yet his eyes speak of intense annoyance towards a woman who is trembling quietly on the floor, her pale translucent skin smeared with cuts and bruises, both new and old. She kept her head low, her tangled brown hair obscuring her face. She must not look at him in the eyes in order to avoid angering him further.

A little girl, around eight years of age, huddles quietly behind her bedroom door. She held onto the partially opened door with shivering hands, tensely peeking at the happenings outside. Her father rarely visited them, but whenever he does she would have to be extra vigilant.

No making noise, no interfering. That's what her mother always told her to do. To pretend like she doesn't exist.

The girl knows what is going to happen next, and as usual, she won't stay around to watch the tragedy unfolds. Slowly, the girl closed the door, turn her back against it and tiptoes towards the center of the room where a table lies.

On the table are her artworks, each one sprawled out in an orderly fashion. At the right corner of every piece is an initial "A.J.H", which stands for her very own name, Ahn Jae-Hwa. The surname "Ahn" means peace, and the last name "Jae-Hwa" means respect and beauty. Ironically, Jae-Hwa is nothing like her name suggests. She has a messy, dark auburn hair, with the long front bangs obscuring her eyes, her pale skin blotted with dirt and paint. Her pale white dress, now a tinge of yellow and brown, looks oversized and shabby.

The girl looks pitifully thin as if her growth has been stunted, a heart-wrenching sight for those who laid their eyes upon.

Once at the table, Jae-Hwa pulls out the chair and takes a seat. She picks up a paintbrush and dips it into a deep blue paint. Tonight, the night sky is shimmering beautifully, urging her to paint them.

As she began gliding her brush against the paper, the noise outside begins to get louder.

The distorted screams and pleading. The sound of objects breaking as it hits the ground, sending mild vibrations beneath her feet. Over the years, Jae-Hwa has learned to treat them just as they are - sounds. Just sounds. There is no need to attach meanings to them. She would put her entire focus on smearing the blank sheet with vibrant colors, putting just enough pressure on the brush to allow steady yet nimble movements. It was a graceful sight, both the artist and the art itself.

It's calming, like a cocoon that wraps her mind in a warm spring. Often, she forgot who she is, what is happening.

'What if everything is just a bad dream?'

'Of course not', Jae-Hwa laughs at herself in ridicule for asking such a question. If it's really a bad dream then it wouldn't have lasted this long. Eight years. That's her entire life.

Jae-Hwa has never shown her artworks to anyone, and honestly, no one cares. This is her private bubble, a protective mechanism against all the negativity.

THUD

What was that?

Jae-Hwa's hand paused. There was a dull sound, somewhat similar to dropping a heavy sandbag onto the floor. The house suddenly falls into eely silence, causing chills to creep up Jae-Hwa's back. The fight ended sooner than usual, and instead of feeling relieved, it gave her a weird sense of urgency.

Jae-Hwa decided to take a leap of faith - slowly, gently twists the doorknob, creating just enough gap for a quick peek -

On the kitchen floor was her pale mother, lying in a pool of tangy red blood. There was a long, open gash on her forehead. Her eyes lacking it's usual orb-like quality, staring vacantly at Jae-Hwa.

The girl falls to the ground, frozen stiff.

Looking at her mother's vacant eyes, Jaehwa feels her stomach churning and her brain paralyzed. The iron-rich smell of the blood permeated across the room, and soon it was all she could smell. Jae-Hwa soon starts to gag, and this wakes her up from her stupor.

"Mom needs help."

The eight years old Jae-Hwa is a smart child. She knows that when an emergency arises, call 119. So she hurriedly pushed herself up from the ground and look around for a cellphone. But there's a problem.

Where is it?... Why isn't it here?

She couldn't find it. Her mother always keeps her phone on the dining table, but right now it's empty. She did a quick search throughout the house but to no avail. Without another thought, Jae-Hwa ran outside of the house with bare feet, fumbling in the dark towards the nearby houses and shouts for help.

Disturbed by the noise, they open their doors a little, but when they saw who she was they slam the door shut.

"It's that dirty whore's child", a few of them sniggered scornfully. "The bastard is just like her mother, no manners at all."

...

Time slowly passes by, just like an eternity.

...

Jae-Hwa was either shoved aside harshly or ignored altogether. No matter how much she begged them to call for an ambulance, they wouldn't budge. The longer time passes, the more hopeless she felt. Every step she took feels more and more painful. Her voice now hoarse from shouting, while her hands numb and bruised from banging countless doors. Her bare feet, after several hours running on rocky ground now an unrecognizable bloody mess.

'They all heard me, they definitely did. And yet...'

Suddenly, a deep-seated hatred sprouts rapidly within her, branching its tendrils around her heart in a vise grip. She can take it all - getting bullied at school or being boycotted and harshly treated. However, for them to go to the extent of abandoning an injured person...

'I won't forgive them. Never.'

Her face crumples, tears threatening to fall off her lashes. With her hands tightened into fists, she swore that if someone, anyone, decided to help her, she would return the favor tenfold.

So she ran and ran, never once stop to take a breath.

BANG

All of a sudden Jaehwa felt like she was floating in mid-air. Something hard rammed into her, giving her no choice but to leave her fate in the hands of gravity. Her entire body felt numb at first, but soon the pain emerged, creeping throughout her body like thousands of slithering snakes.

THUD

Whimpers escape her lips as her body made contact with the ground, the already unbearable pain becomes even more excruciating. She can vaguely see two bright rays of light in the dark, most probably a car's headlights. It seems like she did get hit by a car, running across the street without looking at the traffic sign.

'What to do now?'

She needs to get help for her mother, and now look how stupid of a mistake she had made!

Suddenly, a shadow-figure looms over her, engulfing her entirety like dark clouds obscuring the moonlight. A shadow of a stranger under the night sky, flickering distortedly like an illusion, making Jae-Hwa dizzy and confused.

Is she going crazy? She once heard an adult said that if you hit your head too hard, you will go bonkers.

She can't make out much due to her fading vision and intense pain, but from the stranger's tall built and broad shoulders, she can definitely say with certainty that he is a grown adult male.

Right then, something caught her attention. It was his eyes - a pair of penetrating, deep-set eyes. As he openly scans her from head to toe, she can't help but feel vulnerable, as if he can read her thoughts and feelings like an open book. What an overwhelming strength, she thought, as if there is nothing in the world he can't achieve.

Jae-Hwa is sensitive to people's emotions due to years of staying vigilant against people, especially her father, thus she is very certain about her judgment.

The man is an embodiment of authority. She somehow knew that if it's him, he can save her mother.

She lifted her trembling hands and grab tightly onto the edge of his trousers.

"My mother...help..."

Jae-Hwa felt her vision blackened, and her consciousness sank into oblivion.

**********************